Selena Quintanilla's family: Chris Pérez to Suzette Quintanilla, where are all Selena y Los Dinos members now?
Selena was an enchantress. She could make magic with her music. On the morning of March 31, 1995, she was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, her friend and president of Selena's fan club. The tragic death 16 days before her 24th birthday drew a parallel with musicians like John Lennon and Elvis Presley.
Before she became the Queen of Tejano Music, Selena Quintanilla was a young girl from Texas with big dreams and an even bigger voice. A heartwarming Netflix show ‘Selena: The Series’ — produced by the Quintanillas — explores her journey from singing small gigs to becoming the most successful female Latin artist of all time — and the years of hard work and sacrifice the Quintanilla family navigated together. Selena joined the family band at the age of 10, and they turned professional two years later. As the Netflix show drops all nine episodes, here is a sneak peek at where the Quintanilla family and Selena y Los Dinos members are now.
Abraham Quintanilla III
Lovingly known as AB Quintanilla, he is the older brother of The Queen of Tejano music and once he joined the band, he would play bass guitar, produce and write songs. Oldest of the three children of Abraham Quintanilla Jr, he resurfaced in 1999 after Selena's death with Kumbia Kings, which mixed cumbia and pop music. He also produced for entertainers like Thalía, Alicia Villarreal, Verónica Castro and Cristian Castro. Did you he also produced and arranged the 2004 album, 'AB Quintanilla III Presents Joe Lopez'?
In mid-2006, he left Kumbia Kings after a controversy with fellow member Cruz Martínez and started the group Kumbia All Starz with Selena's widower Chris Pérez and Pee Wee. The group gained immense popularity in South America, especially Bolivia. After signing up with DEL Records, he formed Elektro Kumbia in 2016 and released a single called 'Piña Colada Shot' in 2017.
A father to eight children, including sons Svani and Gianni Quintanilla, four other sons and two daughters born between 1989 and 2007, he first married his longtime girlfriend, Rikkie Leigh Robertson in 2011 but they divorced in 2016. He then tied the knot with Anjelah O in 2019.
Suzette Quintanilla
Born on June 29, 1967, she played the drums and percussion for the family band. After her sister's death, she bid goodbye to her music career and is currently involved with her father's Latin entertainment company Q-Productions, Inc. Suzzette is also the manager of the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.
On November 3, 2017, she attended Selena's posthumous ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, and said, “They don’t give this honor to everyone, so I’m beyond honored to be able to participate in the making of it, priceless.” The same year, she unveiled the wax figure of Selena at Madame Tussauds Museum in New York. Back in April 2019, she was spotted at a meet-and-greet at North Star Mall in San Antonio, Texas, hosted by popular fashion brand, Forever 21, which launched a line of clothing inspired by Selena.
Chris Pérez
Selena was madly in love with Chris Pérez and her tragic death left him devastated. Days after her death, Chris couldn't eat or sleep and his condition soon led to drug and alcohol abuse. He didn't open up about his feelings with anyone and family members noticed he was rapidly losing weight. “A lot of (guilt) going through my mind,” he said in an interview, adding, “But when something happens like that so quickly, and the way it happened, I think it's only natural for most people to feel the same way. The reason something like that happens is because nobody expected it to happen. We didn't think this person was capable of doing what she did.”
In 1998, love knocked on his door again when he met Vanessa Villanueva through his friend John Garza. That year, Pérez formed the Chris Pérez Band and began writing songs for their debut album. 'Resurrection', which won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. However, the band disbanded after their second album, 'Una Noche Mas' (2002) and the couple decided to part ways. Pérez continued to play in his brother-in-law AB's groups, the Kumbia Kings and the Kumbia All Starz. In 2010, he formed the Chris Pérez Project, which included Puerto Rican singer Angel Ferrer and penned down his book, 'To Selena, with Love' in 2012.
Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla
Abraham Quintanilla Jr formed the band Selena y Los Dinos in 1981 and her mother Marcella Quintanilla supported her family through all their tours and musical journey. After Selena's death, the band disbanded but Quintanilla took part in several documentaries, album productions about Selena's early life and her death. Soon after she died, the Quintanilla family started The Selena Foundation to help children.
He also owns his record company, Q-Productions and continues to produce music documentaries and films.
The other members of the band were Rena Dearman, Rodney Pyeatt, Mike Dean, Dale Balint, Ricky Vela, Roger Garcia, Joe Ojeda, Pete Astudillo, Mike Orosco, Don Shelton and Freddie Corea.
‘Selena: The Series’ starts streaming with nine new episodes on Friday, December 4, 2020 on Netflix.